How to be Proactive and Take Action to Achieve your Goals

With any goal that you have, if you don’t set clear targets for yourself and be disciplined, then you will never achieve the results you so desperately seek.

People can want to get fit, want to have more money, achieve more success in their work life, but if their goal isn’t motivated by a strong emotional reason and connection, complacency and life will interrupt the journey and derail them from their end destination.

The longer you have a goal which goes unfulfilled, the more frustrated and hopeless you can become. “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”Albert Einstein’s words certainly hit a nerve with me, with this ridiculously relevant and applicable quote.

Here are my five top tips on how to achieve the results you seek;

Find your “WHY”. What is your reason behind this goal? Is it that you want to be fitter, to be able to live longer and spend more time with your family? Do you want more money so that you can give back to others, who are in need? Once you find an emotional need which you can associate with your goal, this will be the driving factor which will motivate you to take action to achieve it. Once you have your why, make sure to write it down in a place where you will see it every single day!

Be consistent. Starting taking action towards your goals and then getting sidetracked is one of the most unproductive things that will certainly not move you in the direction you are trying to go. Schedule in certain times every single day where you will work on that goal. In order to be consistent you also must;

Eliminate distractions. Distractions are constant and incessant and unless you are aware of what distracts you the most, it will always continue to happen. Take a moment to think; what’s the thing which distracts you the most? If it’s your phone, as I have been guilty of in the past, consider setting certain times where you will switch it off. Then give your full attention to the task in hand. If it’s other people, for example if you live with a large family, explain to them that between the time of x and y, you will be working on this project. Then, when they come and try to talk to you, it’s easier for you to say no and for them to understand why.

Focus your attention on one goal at a time. The importance of multi-tasking has been ingrained in our psyche, since the beginning of our lives on earth. Once we are in school, we are expected to be social and learn and pass exams and be sporty and grow and develop and behave. As we grow older, technology consumes our thoughts more and more and we have so many responsibilities to juggle simultaneosly. Yet, studies have proven again and again that we are most productive when we focus our attention on one goal at a time.

The best thing to do, is make your goal a priority. Work on it as soon as you wake up. Think about it as soon as you go to sleep. Also consider, if you’re not willing to do this, does that goal really mean as much to you as you think? If it’s truly important to you and you have linked it with your reason why, then nothing will be able to get in the way of you achieving it. Remember to keep a positive mindset and surround yourself with motivational and encouraging people who will inspire you to keep going when the going gets tough.

Which of these five points do you struggle with the most? How can you find a way to be more focussed and consistent? Please share any stories of how you have managed to eliminate distractions in your life.